Residents Give An Inch On Annexing

COCONUT CREEK — Hillsboro Pines residents who have staunchly opposed annexation into the city, gave in -- just an inch -- Thursday in their ongoing battle with the city.

Janice King asked City Council members not to annex Hillsboro Pines until the State Road 7 and Lyons Road expansion projects are completed.

King said the road construction, scheduled to begin on Lyons Road next month, ``will cause massive snarl-ups and make it impossible for emergency vehicles to get through.``

City Manager Dennis Mele said that was OK by him and added that it was the first indication by Hillsboro Pines residents that they would willingly come into the city.

Hillsboro Pines is a 43-acre tract of single-family homes in unincorporated Broward, just south of the county line between State Road 7 and Lyons Road.

Roy Groves, director of the planning implementation division for the Broward County Planning Office, told council members and about 50 city and Hillsboro Pines residents that the county wants to stop providing services such as fire protection and garbage pickup by 1990.

That means all unincorporated land would have to be annexed into a city within the next five years.

King and five other residents living in unincorporated land, again emphasized to council members that they would rather not be annexed at all.

Barbara Carolyn of the 5400 block of Northwest 76th Place, said, ``We just want to remain unannexed. We should be given a choice. It`s a nice American thing to do.``

King said Hillsboro Pines residents are opposed to coming into Coconut Creek because of the ``condo mentality. They want everything identical.``

She said there only has been one burglary in five years in Hillsboro Pines because residents have firearms, pit bull dogs and fences around their entire yards. That would change if they were incorporated into the city, King, a nine-year Hillsboro Pines resident, claims.

Jerome Sanzone, of the 7400 block of Lyons Road, likewise charged the city with ``harassment and trying to change my lifestyle.``

Specifically, Sanzone said he would be unable to discharge a firearm to kill a rattlesnake in his yard if he were a city resident.

Mele said residents would not be required to comply with city regulations immediately, that they would be phased in over time.

Mele said the city does not want to annex people who don`t want to come in but that the city must abide by decisions made by the State Legislature. State Rep. Jack Tobin said Hillsboro Pines residents eventually will have to accept annexation into Coconut Creek because there`s no place else for them to go.

Tobin said people also fear an increase in taxes. Statistics show taxes would increase an average of 9 percent overall in the land that the city may annex, including Hillsboro Pines.